The timeline traced back to the reign of Emperor Guangcheng.
Shen Zechuan believed that the Yongyi Restoration initiated by Emperor Guangcheng was the Great Zhou’s final chance. Though brief, it produced countless talents—Yongyi was an era of rising worthies. This period heralded the revival of the Great Zhou.
At that time, Qudu had a strong and decisive emperor. Among his civil ministers were Qi Huilian and Hai Liangyi; among his generals were Qi Shiyu and Xiao Fangxu. These talents served one monarch, sharing a single ideal—the Yongyi Restoration was the brilliance they collectively created.
Amur, once an eagle servant, stood by the Chashi River, gazing past the rushing waters at the Great Zhou—a colossal, impeccable force. The twelve Biansha tribes were powerless against such a Great Zhou. Their strongest, the Hard Snake tribe in the north, was steadily beaten back by Xiao Fangxu, with dead cattle and sheep scattered everywhere in winter.
At first, Amur led the Liao Ying tribe away from the Chashi River simply to find land to survive. His brothers starved in the snow and wind. Because the Liao Ying were weak, Amur had to lead his tribe wandering in the desert. During this wandering, he saw the twelve Biansha tribes killing one another. The equally weak Huiyan tribe could not survive under the strong tribes’ oppression, so they left the desert and submitted to Xiao Fangxu. Yet Amur had endured enough of restraint—he did not believe that the falcons granted by heaven were born to be slaves. He did not seek the mercy of the strong; he only wanted to rise.
Amur rose in the desert, defeating the Hard Snake tribe’s Sude as an eagle servant, and married Sude’s sister, Surina. When he faced the Great Zhou again, his opponent was Xiao Fangxu. Amur realized that the twelve Biansha tribes must unite like the Great Zhou; he had to become the desert’s overlord, as strong as Emperor Guangcheng, and so he began absorbing other tribes.
But Libei’s cavalry had heavy equipment, and their iron walls made it impossible for Amur to penetrate. In his clashes with Xiao Fangxu, he realized that Emperor Guangcheng had aged, and the Great Zhou was no longer as vigorous as before. He understood that defeating the Great Zhou required more than one approach. Turning his gaze back to the Chashi River, Gedale presented an opportunity. Amur decided to use Gedale’s Scorpions to undermine the Great Zhou’s defenses.
Bai Cha was Amur’s obstacle in Gedale.
But how did Amur actually kill Bai Cha?
“Why did you still stay in Gedale?” Xiao Chiye asked, stretching out his arms. “Bai Cha had already established a refuge in Duanzhou.”
“Because of the enforcement of the Huangce registration,” Shen Zechuan thought of Qi Huilian. “It’s a barrier.”
“Exactly. Most women lacked registration. When the Zhu family colluded with the highwaymen to erase their records, they reported many deaths to Qudu. Even the few women whose surnames survived were, like my mother, sold by their brothers,” Hairegu said with a hint of gloom. “The courtesans led by Bai Cha could not control everything. To solve the registration issue, most married clerks in Duanzhou’s administration. Bai Cha sectioned off a place for us in the Chu House, raising the children there. But as numbers grew, hiding became extremely difficult. Most challenging were children like me, too conspicuous in appearance; even with registration documents, it was useless. We could not see sunlight in Duanzhou, living off their savings in the backyards of brothels. After the highwaymen were eradicated, Gedale had a period of peace, and that’s when we returned to Gedale. When Amur summoned the Scorpions, he promised us land and livestock. Jida believed him, and I, unable to resist the Biansha cavalry, had to return. After Bai Cha died, the courtesans continued helping us, though their power waned. I lived on Duanzhou’s outskirts; years later, Amur launched a sudden attack on the Chashi River defenses. Zhongbo was no longer under the administration’s control, and that’s when I entered Zhongbo and lived here until now.”
Hairegu spoke until his mouth was dry. Chen Yang poured him another bowl of water. He thanked him softly and drank it all.
“The timing is right,” Xiao Chiye said to Shen Zechuan. “After Bai Cha’s death, Amur obtained the Scorpions. He split them into black and white. The White Scorpions conveyed messages inside the Great Zhou—the military maps were just one part. In Xian De year, Juexi suffered disaster. Hai Liangyi investigated the Ministry of Revenue accounts, questioning Hua Siqian. Hua Siqian, to fill the treasury deficit, extorted money from complicit aristocrats.”
“He didn’t get it,” Shen Zechuan said firmly. “In Xian De year three, Hua Siqian resold the Hua family’s estates to Xi Hongxuan because he failed to extract funds from the aristocrats. But the deficit was too great; the Hua family could not fill it.”
“Then the Zhongbo military defeat occurred,” Xiao Chiye frowned.
He remembered the Biansha cavalry’s ambush route well; they had once analyzed it at the Mei residence. Their destination was Juexi. If the aristocrats had White Scorpions hidden, Amur would know that Juexi lacked supplies.
Xiao Chiye silently drew lines on the ground. After a moment, he said: “Juexi is hard to defend. Amur’s cavalry advancing deep into enemy territory was risky. The Biansha cavalry relied on war to sustain war; they couldn’t hold the city. If his target was still Juexi, he was heading to certain death, facing a three-way encirclement there.”
“What if the aristocrats involved in the defeat wanted Amur dead?” Shen Zechuan suddenly said, covering Xiao Chiye’s military sketch. “They were independent, beyond Amur’s control. They could treat him like Shen Wei—a dog. They could lure him in and, using the army, kill him, making the defeat completely appear as Shen Wei’s treachery.”
“But the aristocrats did not know about the White Scorpions,” Xiao Chiye realized, tossing the branch aside. “They thought they could control Amur.”
Both sides hid their intentions. Amur might have disguised himself as a simple Biansha man, never revealing his hand. The aristocrats didn’t even know the White Scorpions were present. Amur seized the chance to strike Zhongbo, not seeking victory, but aiming to dismantle the Great Zhou from within.
He succeeded.
The Zhongbo military defeat was a turning point, signaling the end of the Yongyi Restoration. From Xian De year four, internal upheaval shook the Great Zhou. Hai Liangyi embarked on open conflict with the aristocrats, pursuing Hua Siqian for six years alongside Xue Xiuzhuo and others. Libei was forced to send out Xiao Chiye, planting the seeds of future divergence. The Empress Dowager purged the court of Emperor Guangcheng’s era. Everyone was mired in internal strife. The Zhongbo military defeat was Amur’s probing stone. Perhaps even he did not foresee how swiftly the Great Zhou would crumble; the stone fell perfectly, like the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“We thought Shen Wei killed Bai Cha,” Hairegu said again in the grim atmosphere. “He may have been influenced by surviving highwaymen, treating Bai Cha as a spy from Biansha.”
Shen Zechuan lowered his gaze to his right hand, deep in thought.
“If that’s true,” Xiao Chiye said, “then Shen Wei did not betray the Great Zhou, and all his actions during Xian De become understandable.”
Shen Wei’s guilt could not be washed clean. He first fled in fear of battle, then colluded with his son Shen Zhouji to strangle the main advocate Dantai Long at a banquet. Not only did he retreat himself, he demanded the Zhongbo generals do the same. Six prefectures were handed over; this was what Xiao Chiye despised most about Shen Wei.
Later, Xiao Chiye assumed command of the Imperial Guard, striving to incorporate Zhongbo’s remaining garrison under his banner. It was a matter of honor: these soldiers bore the shame of cowardice, forty thousand perished in Chashi’s sinkhole without a chance to retaliate. Xiao Chiye, upon accepting Dantai Hu’s men, said, “The national humiliation is not yet avenged, the family grievance not yet settled,” thinking that one day he would return Zhongbo’s soldiers, led by Dantai Hu, to Zhongbo.
Repay debts to those who owe.
“Think of it in reverse,” Shen Zechuan murmured, Shen Wei’s face recurring in his mind. “Then it all makes sense.”
Hairegu did not understand.
The merchants next door had gone silent. Moonlight chilled the courtyard. In a moment of quiet, Xiao Chiye draped his cloak over Shen Zechuan’s shoulders.
“Since the aristocrats did not know about the White Scorpions, they could only use their own means to contact Amur,” Shen Zechuan said, pulling the cloak tight. “There are only three places to reach Amur: Libei, the border prefecture, and Duanzhou. When I was in Qudu, I interrogated Ji Lei. He said Shen Wei was sent to Zhongbo to sever connections between Libei and Qidong. Perhaps he was not merely a watchdog—he was also liaising with the Biansha tribes on the aristocrats’ behalf.”
Hairegu shuddered. “So marrying Bai Cha… was a probe!”
Shen Zechuan quickly organized the threads, speaking clearly: “The Zhus allowed highwaymen to operate in Duanzhou, and even girls from Dengzhou suffered. Dunzhou wouldn’t be spared. Dun and Duan prefectures are close. Dantai Long would know of the Zhus trading women. When the Zhus forged household registrations, they speculated—how could a small border prefecture alter the Huangce in distant Qudu? The Zhus had backing; Dantai Long could not act against them. Shen Wei came to Zhongbo colluding with the Zhus; he went to Duanzhou to investigate Bai Cha’s hidden network.”
This clarified Shen Zechuan’s earlier confusion. If Bai Cha could deceive Shen Wei, how could the hidden highwaymen in Dunzhou easily uncover her? She married Shen Wei to bring down the highwaymen; Shen Wei attacked the highwaymen to probe Bai Cha.
Ji Lei had revealed something before dying.
Under the Empress Dowager’s orders, Shen Wei, collaborating with Ji Lei, fabricated the Eastern Palace treason case, killing the crown prince in Zhaozui Temple. Soon after, Shen Wei noticed spies around his mansion, with movement on the rooftops at night. Believing the Empress Dowager sought to discard him, he bribed Pan Rugui heavily, securing his placement in Zhongbo.
“Shen Wei feared death. He suspected the aristocrats had abandoned him. That’s why in Zhongbo, besides liaising with the Biansha tribes for them, he sought a way out for himself. He wavered between the aristocrats and the Biansha, until Amur appeared.”
Shen Zechuan’s eyes were pitch black.
“Shen Wei is the Scorpion.”